Surprise!
by Zephyr W
Summary: Modern AU. It was a normal autumn day in London, with the sky looking sad and bleak. Tessa finally gets a chance to be alone with Jem, although she denies that she's been waiting for this moment. However, her heart starts jumping out of her chest when Jem asks her to blow on...one of his body part.
Jessamine was drumming her fingers on a textbook she was pretending to read when Tessa pulled the chair in front of her. She sat down and looked at Jessamine with a teasing smile.

"So you've changed your mind about books being a waste of trees?" Tessa poked the book in front of Jessamine.

Jessamine rolled her eyes. "I need to study. I _am_ a student." She replied.

Tessa chuckled. Jessamine hated reading so it was a surprise to her when she walked in the library and found her sitting alone with a stack of books. She had a point, anyway. Finals were nearing and almost everyone in the campus was burying their face in textbooks.

Tessa was fishing for her pen in her bag when Jessamine tugged at her hand.

"Hey, fix your ugly blue shirt. Your discount knight in shining armor is coming." Jessamine whispered with wide eyes looking at her.

Tessa ignored how she called her favorite shirt ugly and insulted her taste in men. Her heart sped up as soon as Jessamine leaned back and grinned at her. Tessa was going to look down at her shirt when a familiar voice stopped her.

"Hey, are you both studying?"

Tessa looked up and almost wanted to run when she saw Jem smiling at her. No matter how many times she had seen that smile, it always felt like the first time.

Jessamine scoffed. "Yeah, studying. Me, studying. Right."

Jem sighed and sat down beside Tessa. She screamed mentally.

"Stop pretending you don't care, Jessamine." He told her. Jessamine only shrugged in reply.

Tessa tried to look casual. "What brings you here?" She asked. It wasn't a stupid question since Jem wasn't that close with the two women.

Jem looked blank for a second and mouthed an 'oh yeah'. "I was going to invite both of you to a study group. I know it sounds lame but Charlotte wanted to do it. You're close friends, right?"

Tessa nodded. "Sure." She deserved a pat on the back for being able to talk to Jem.

"Where and what time?" Jessamine asked. It was another surprise to Tessa when she didn't complain.

"Actually, right now. At Charlotte's." Jem answered. The two women nodded and fixed their things. Tessa hardly had to fix anything since she just sat down.

They waited for Jessamine to finish arranging her books when she paused and stared at Tessa.

Usually, when Jessamine suddenly stares at Tessa, she was planning something. Tessa shook her head to tell her to stop whatever she was going to do.

"Hey, you two go first. I have a lot of books to return. I won't be needing them, anyway." Jessamine gave them an obviously fake smile.

"What? We'll wait for you." Tessa suggested. Being alone with Jem was both scary and exciting.

Jessamine sighed. "No. You two go on. I'm not your daughter, you know." She shooed them away which resulted in an amused laugh from Jem.

"Fine. Let's go, Tessa." Jem placed his hand on her back for a second which made Tessa's heart jump a mile.

The autumn breeze made Tessa shiver as soon as they stepped outside. Despite wearing three layers, she was still a bit cold. She didn't want to be too obvious, though. The gentleman beside her might lend her his jacket. Tessa didn't know if her heart could take that.

They walked in awkward silence. Maybe it was just Tessa who was feeling awkward. She would thank and kill Jessamine for this. Tessa avoided looking at Jem and focused on the trees they passed by. It wasn't an easy task when you're walking with a beautiful creature like Jem.

After a few moments, Jem stopped walking. Tessa looked at him and saw that he had one of his hand in his face.

"You okay?" Tessa asked with concern in her voice much too obvious for her liking.

Jem put his hand down and faced Tessa. She took half a step backward from surprise.

"Could you blow on my eyes?"

Tessa stood in silence for a few seconds. Did she hear him right? _Blow on his eyes?_

"Wh-what?" Tessa stuttered. Jem's request surprised her.

"Well, I think I have something in my eye. I'm sorry if it sounds weird but could you please blow?" Jem asked again. His left eye was squeezed shut and he looked so cute.

Tessa's face flushed but she nodded. She hesitantly stepped forward and tried to avoid Jem's eyes, which was hard since she was supposed to blow on it.

She stood on her toes and quickly blew once before stepping back.

"There. Is it okay?" Tessa looked away. She felt so awkward and she hoped her face wasn't visibly red.

Jem quickly blinked to check before shaking his head. "No, a few more please. I'm really sorry."

Tessa sighed and faced Jem. He was smiling and was probably amused at her embarrassment. She lightly punched his shoulder despite wanting to bury herself.

She stepped forward again and gently blew on Jem's eyes. She could feel his gaze on her which made the situation even more awkward and her heartbeat faster. Tessa was going to move away when Jem tilted his head and placed a quick kiss on her cheek.

Tessa touched her cheek due to reflex and looked at Jem with wide eyes. She didn't know if her heart stopped beating or it was just too fast for her to describe. Jem was looking at the ground with a shy smile and red cheeks.

"That was a form of thanks, I guess." He muttered under his breath.

Tessa was pleasantly surprised. She couldn't help laughing in embarrassment and happiness. This day was really full of surprises.

"Well, that's a unique way of thanking someone." She joked. Jem finally looked at her and gave her that smile that seemed to erase all the bad things in the world. She felt warmth bloom from her chest throughout her whole body.

Jem moved closer and took her hand. Tessa couldn't be more surprised. She decided that she loved surprises when they involve Jem Carstairs.

Maybe she should not kill Jessamine and just thank her.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading :D**

 **Writing fluff was harder than I thought. Well, practice makes perfect...I guess?**

 **Tell me what you think!**


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